Forensic Entomology: From Basic Research to Practical Applications
A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical and Livestock Entomology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 1079
Special Issue Editors
2. School of Medical, Molecular & Forensic Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia
Interests: forensic entomology; water forensics; decomposition
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: forensic entomology; taphonomy; water forensics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: managing flies for crop pollination; forensic entomology; fly pollination; alternative pollinators for horticultural crops
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The following Special Issue will incorporate any research in this discipline, including understanding the developmental stages of various insect species associated with human or animal remains. This includes studying biotic and abiotic factors that affect the growth and development of insects such as blowflies, flesh flies, and beetles. Understanding which insects are likely to be present at a crime scene and their stages of development is extremely important when determining the time since death. The decomposition process is dynamic, and insects play a fundamental role in this process. What are the different insects that are associated with the different stages of decomposition? How are they attracted, and do they interact with this ephemeral resource? Furthermore, many methods have been developed for collecting and identifying insect evidence, but there are numerous gaps in the literature, such as how best to preserve specimens for extracting DNA and drugs from immatures.
The future direction of research covers many aspects, such as the fact that most continents and regions have different insect species, which can make it challenging to apply findings universally. In addition, adapting new technologies to enhance the accuracy of forensic methods and processes, such as identifying species using DNA and advanced imaging techniques (computed tomography, hyperspectral). Finally, it is encouraging to observe that forensic entomology is also combining with other disciplines like toxicology, microbiology, anthropology, and pathology to provide a more comprehensive understanding of crime scenes.
Prof. Dr. Ian R. Dadour
Dr. Paola A. Magni
Dr. David F. Cook
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Insects is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- forensic entomology
- fly ecology
- taphonomy
- taxonomy
- molecular genetics
- imaging
- toxicology
- life history
- development
- postmortem interval
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